Post by bot on Mar 21, 2013 0:06:10 GMT -5

Australian minister calls for leadership changeSYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Australian Arts Minister Simon Crean called for leadership change on national television on Thursday. Former Labour Party leader Crean said that the ruling party was in a stalemate situation and added "I'm sick of it." Stocks were off early highs on Thursday afternoon, with the S&P/ASX 200 index down 0.1% at 4,961.70 while the Australian dollar traded at $1.0380, just up from $1.0378 in late North American trading Wednesday.